STOP! …and smell the (free) photos
Are you working with a limited marketing budget that doesn’t let you cough-up hundreds on stock photos from Shutterstock or Getty Images? Fear not. Although these resources can surely help you find the exact photo you are looking for, i.e. man sleeps on cake pillow, underwater nun, or cyber woman cradling corn (here’s a few more if you’re interested), sometimes all your business needs is a simple, versatile photo. Take this eye-catching crazy-man-with-banana photo for example. It obviously intrigued you, and thus here you are (see what we did there?). It’s important to know where to find attention-grabbing and relevant photos that hook your viewers in. And best of all, they don’t have to cost a dime. Now that we’ve caught your attention, take a look at the list we lined up of our favorite free resources for high quality images. Happy downloading.
Negative Space not only has the name that fills designers’ dreams; it has photos for everything. After using it for a while, I’ve come to see that it’s a good resource to use if you are looking for photos of people and interactions with an artistic, laid back, and somewhat hipster elegance. You can tell what type of photographer is drawn to this platform, and designers and marketers with a similar aesthetic should hang out in the same e-space to find similar photos.
Pixabay is one of the big ones; their photos are almost always found and featured on all other free platforms. The photographers who post on this platform exude a more natural, sharp, and clean artistic style. If you are looking for vivid colors in natural settings, check out Pixabay the next time you need a photo.
The most basic and one of the better known resources out there is Pexels. While they are a free photo resource, they also offer different categories and incentives for photographers, meaning the lineup of images is continuously updating. Take their photo challenges, for example; these will help you gain some additional inspiration while providing you with new and varied images every day.
Death of the Stock Photo is on a mission to fuel the world’s artistic endeavors via approach and process, one free resource a time. The feel of the images from Death to the Stock Photo is more of a Scandinavian-chic; however there are plenty other styles mixed into their stash. So, if you’re feeling a little “stick-it-to-the-man-iosis” from big Stock-Image businesses (School of Rock reference if you’re wondering), then make Death to Stock your go-to.
Whenever I want a nature scene with a subdued tinted filter, I think of Unsplash. They have plenty of other styles and categories that don’t fit this description as well, but they seem to have strength in all things natural and scenic. Looking for a backdrop for your next inspirational quote? Unsplash. Or perhaps a photo of a mountain and valley with a beautiful sunset behind a winding road to enhance your business metaphor? Unsplash. Best of all, they have consistently high quality images that they add to each week. If you need a fresh perspective through a new (camera) lens, Unsplash is the place to be.
To shamelessly use an old adage: a photo is worth a thousand words. Quick and effective communication between you and your audience is crucial, and it is also more professional. Thanks to the open-source internet of things, the images you need are just a click away. Now, go forth, and download.
